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Brexit and Anglophobia

Sat, Jan 20, 2018, 00:08

Sir, – While I agree in part with the letters to the editor condemning a perceived Anglophobia or hostility towards Leave voters in this newspaper, they fall short of suggesting an alternative path.

I do not ask for The Irish Times to change its editorial stance nor reduce the criticism of Leavers, but instead merely ask that both sides of the Brexit debate be represented; the Leave side has been grossly underrepresented since the referendum.

Balance and open-mindedness are what make a newspaper truly informative.– Yours, etc,

BASIL SHANAHAN,

Dublin 2.

Sir, – I hate to disturb the cosy consensus in nationalist Ireland that, in voting for Brexit, the English were fools, imperialists or racists, the Welsh could be ignored since they voted for Brexit (and this doesn’t suit the narrative) and only the Scots and the people of Northern Ireland took the sensible course by voting Remain.

Here are the dull statistics. The vote for leave was 53.4 per cent in England, 52.3 per cent in Wales, 44.2 per cent in Northern Ireland, and 38.0 per cent in Scotland. Overall the percentage Leave vote was 51.9 percent.

So, a pretty mixed picture in all four areas. Not that this is going to have the slightest influence on those who already have made up their minds: after all, who needs facts? – Yours, etc,